Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Jones, Noble 1834 -
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Author: Portraits & Bio Sketches, 1890
NOBLE JONES.
The tastes of men give rise to varied wants and occupations. Some find their
enjoyment in the bustle of the busy haunts of men, and some amid the less
exciting scenes of rural life, while others combine the two. The latter is the
case with the subject of this biographical notice, who spends his days among
the bulls and bears of the Chicago Board of Trade and in the turmoil of the
great city, while the hours not occupied in efforts to increase his store of
worldly goods are given to rural pleasures and domestic joys "far from the
madding crowd." His home is in Mokena, whence he goes to Chicago every
morning, returning at night, as regularly as clock work, never having been
left in thirteen years. For the past decade he has been a member of the
Chicago Board of Trade, and has become the largest receiver among the heavy
dealers so prominent there. His shrewdness is unquestioned, and minor dealers
who could get a "tip'' from Noble Jones would consider themselves verv
fortunate. The Jones family is of Welsh descent, and the more immediate
progenitors of our subject were natives of New England. His grandfather,
Wesley Jones, was born in Vermont, whence he removed to Connecticut, in which
State his son Wesley, the father of our subject, was born in 1800. The same
year the elder Jones removed to Canada, making a settlement in Barnstone
Township, County Standstead. He owned and operated a large farm, and the son
was reared amid rural surroundings. He learned the trade of a blacksmith,
following it in Canada until 1837, when he removed to Arcadia, Wayne County,
N. Y., and in that town continued his occupation several years. In 1814 he
came to Will County, Ill., locating in Homer Township. where he sojourned but
a year ere removing to Orland Township, Cook County. There he purchased and
improved an eighty-acre farm, upon which he resided until his death, in 1880,
engaged in the peaceful vocation of a farmer. The mother of our subject was
Abigail, daughter of William Barnes, and was born in Hillsboro, Mass. Her
father, who had previously kept an hotel in Boston, removed to Barnstone,
Canada, during her early life, and engaged in farming there. The homes of
Grandfather Jones and Grandfather Barnes were but a mile apart, and when, in
1882, our subject revisited his birthplace, he was able from the descriptions
given him to locate both places. Grandfather Barnes and his wife were brought
to Illinois in 1854, and both died at the home of his father. Mrs. Wesley
Jones was the mother of six children, he of whom we write being the youngest.
Cyrus died in New York; Wesley is now living in Wetmore, Kan.; William is
farming in Frankfort Township, this county; Wright lives in Portland, Ore.;
Abigail, Mrs. Cross, lives in Wetmore, Kan. The mother passed away in Mokena
in 1881, at the advanced age of eighty years. Noble Jones was born in
Barnstone, Canada, November 16, 1834, and was therefore about three years old
when he accompanied his parents to Arcadia, N. Y. The journey was accomplished
with a team and wagon, and during the few years which followed the little lad
enjoyed the privilege of attending the common schools. The removal to Illinois
taking place when he was ten years old, is well remembered by him, and the
ride on the canal to Buffalo and on a steamer to Chicago were enjoyed as none
but a hearty boy could enjoy such a trip. The city which is now the scene of
Mr. Jones' labors, presented an uninviting appearance when the family reached
it, consisting as it did of a few unpretentious dwellings and places of
business, around which stretched the low ground which well deserved the name
of mud hole. From Chicago the family came to Will County with teams, and here
our subject passed one year. Cook County then became the home of the Jones
family, and our subject was obliged to 20 three miles to school. The old-
fashioned log schoolhouse with slab benches and puncheon floor was the scene
of his educational efforts, and the schools were kept up by subscription. Like
other farmers' sons young Jones was early set to work, soon presenting the
appearance of the "barefoot boy with cheek of tan" who may be seen on many a
farm. When thirteen years old he began driving a breaking team, consisting of
seven yoke of oxen. Three years later he found work as a teamster for the Rock
Island Railroad Company, which was then putting its line to Mokena. He
received $1.25 per day for himself and team, a day's work being twelve hours.
In the spring of 1852, when eighteen years old, Noble Jones and his brother
Wright rigged up a mule team and started to California. Making their way to
Council Bluffs, they joined eighteen others in a caravan which traveled along
the north bank of the Platte River to Ft. Laramie, thence along the North
Platte, taking Sublet's Cut-off, and thence through the South Pass to the
Golden State. Three times the train was attacked by the Pawnees, who were very
hostile at that time, and all considered it wonderful that they escaped being
massacred. At Loupe Fork and the two following camping places, only the bold
front they presented to the savages presented so dire a catastrophe. As their
own animals were wild, and gunshots would have stampeded them, they did not
dare shoot, but depended upon their appearance of preparation and
fearlessness, which fortunately proved sufficient to save their lives. The
only weapon possessed by our subject during these trying scenes was a long
range rifle. The train arrived in Sacramento seventy-three days after leaving
Council Bluffs, and Mr. Jones found work upon a farm, beginning his labors at
$75 per month, and receiving $125 before he abandoned them. His only
experience in mining was during three days, when he was visiting in the
mountains. After remaining on the slope two years Mr. Jones returned via the
Nicaraugua route, the steamer "Sierra Nevada" carrying him from San Francisco
to the Isthmus, and the "Star of the West" being his home during the Atlantic
voyage. The last-named vessel was the first boat fired at Charleston during
the late war. Mr. Jones was working on a farm six miles from Sacramento when
that city was burned, and also when it was "drowned " by the overflow of the
Sacramento River. Mr. Jones completed his journey from New York to Mokena by
rail, the road to the latter place having been finished in his absence. For a
short time he carried on his father's place, then bought eighty acres of raw
land in Frankfort Township, upon which he broke ground, made various
improvements and settled down to farming. He devoted himself to that vocation
two years, meeting with an ordinary degree of success, and he then built a
steam mill in Mokena, and for two years engaged in flour and saw milling as a
member of the firm of Cross & Jones. This venture did not prove successful,
but on the contrary swallowed up all the previous earnings of Mr. Jones, and
he therefore abandoned it for another field of labor. In 1858 Mr. C. Rowley
engaged our subject to go with him to Pike's Peak, Colo., to start and carry
on a sawmill, agreeing to pay him $50 per month for his services. When the two
arrived at Atchison, Kan., Mr. Rowley concluded to start the business on the
Missouri River at that point instead of going to the destination which they
had had in view. Mr. Jones therefore became Superintendent of the sawmill at
Atchison, having charge of the sawing and rafting of logs and every other
detail of the business. He was joined by his wife and child, and continued to
reside in the Garden State until 1863, when he returned to Illinois. For a
twelvemonth he carried on his father's farm, and then, taking up his abode in
Mokena, he began buying grain and shipping it to Chicago. During the next two
years he was fairly successful, and he then opened an establishment for the
sale of agricultural implements. The new venture of Mr. Jones proved to be one
in which his good judgment and business tact found room, and during the next
twelve years he made money. He closed out his large trade at the right time,
in 1878, and going to Chicago, engaged in the commission business and secured
a membership on the Board of Trade. So successful have been his operations
that his name has become well known to all who are interested in the working
of the Board. His son and son-in-law are with him as assistants, and six other
men are employed by him in his office. His dwelling in Mokena is a commodious
one, furnished in a style suited to his means and the cultured tastes of the
occupants, and supplied with every means for the added culture and enjoyment
of the family. The lady with whom Mr. Jones was united in marriage, was born
in Solon, N. Y., and bore the maiden name of Clarissa B. Farley. Her father,
Benjamin Farley, was an early settler in Lockport, Ill., following the trade
of a carpenter and joiner. Mrs. Jones was orphaned when a young girl, and
early began to make her own way as a teacher. She was educated in Indiana, and
in that State began her wedded life, her marriage rites being celebrated July
25, 1855, in the town of West Creek. She is a gifted and accomplished woman,
whose charming hospitality is never forgotten by those who once enjoy it. She
is the mother of six children, of whom four survive—Charles H., the first-
born, died in 1877, at the age of twenty years; Edward S. makes his home in
Chicago, being with his father in business; Emma married Walter Metcalf, and
their home is in Normal Park, Cook County; Belle and Bertha are still at home.
The sons and daughters have had fine advantages, and their minds and manners
do credit to the care which has been bestowed upon them, and afford good
ground for parental pride. Mr. Jones was President of the Board of Trustees at
Mokena for three years and then resigned the office. In 1856 he cast a
Presidential ballot for John Charles Fremont, and since that date has been an
active supporter of the Republican party. He possesses agreeable manners, a
jovial and friendly nature, and is one of those fortunate men who, when
business hours are over, can thoroughly enjoy the comforts and luxuries by
which they are surrounded, and the many pleasures which their abundant means
can procure. Mrs. Jones is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
Additional Comments:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois, Containing Full Page
Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens
of the County; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1890
File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/jones495gbs.txt
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